A significant number of families coping with the heartbreaking loss of a child are facing extended delays of six months or more to determine the cause of death. This delay is a result of a scarcity of trained pathologists available to conduct postmortem examinations on children. Dr. Marta Cohen, a retired paediatric pathologist, has returned to work to assist in reducing the prolonged waiting times that grieving parents are enduring. She expressed that the current situation is the most critical in the past two decades.
Nathan and Fiona Robinson from Doncaster experienced this hardship firsthand as they waited seven agonizing months for a postmortem examination after the sudden passing of their two-year-old son, Alfie. In a tragic incident in May 2022, Fiona discovered her son lifeless in bed while trying to wake him up alongside his older sister. The devastating loss left the family in a state of uncertainty until the pathology team at Sheffield Children’s Hospital could provide answers regarding Alfie’s passing.
The challenges faced by the Robinson family are not unique. Around 40 children and young individuals under the age of 18 in the UK die unexpectedly each year without a known cause. This issue has been attributed to a national shortage of pathologists, with more than a third of pathologist positions remaining unfilled, as reported by the Royal College of Pathologists (RCP).
Dr. Cohen, who handles the majority of sudden death cases at Sheffield Children’s Hospital after coming out of retirement, highlighted the declining number of pathologists over the past two decades. She emphasized the complexity of cases, the short workforce, and the high pressure on pathologists, impacting their well-being.
The RCP revealed that there are only 53 consultant pathologists across the UK, with certain regions lacking child pathologists entirely. Dr. Cohen conducts examinations on children from various regions due to the shortage of pathologists, with some cases reaching her a month after the death due to difficulties in finding pathologists.
To address the delays, Dr. Cohen emphasized the need for government investment in training more pathologists. The Department of Health and Social Care acknowledged the distress faced by families in such situations and committed to creating additional training posts within the NHS, prioritizing specialties with the most significant demand for professionals.